Weather Blog: Rain & Snow Chances This Week

Thank you for stopping by the Weather Watch 12 Blog! After a chilly weekend with highs in the teens and 20s, the focus shifts to a chance of rain or snow to start the week. In today's blog we discuss the two systems that will impact our local area this week. Let's start by timing out when rain or snow arrive on Monday.

No worries for the morning commute as dry weather will hold through Monday morning. By afternoon a few rain showers will develop as highs warm into the low 40s. Futurecast indicates rain showers by 4pm across a good chunk of southeast Wisconsin. Rain is represented by the green colors below.

The chance of rain showers will gradually transition over to a chance of a light mix or snow showers Monday evening. Colder air will rush across southeastern Wisconsin from Monday evening to Tuesday morning. Gusty northwest winds will put an additional chill in the air.

Futurecast shown below at 6am Tuesday forecasts a few snow showers and also much colder temperatures. The snow showers early Tuesday may provide a dusting of snow in a some locations. As of this writing it does not appear that this first system will produce enough snow to shovel, a broom should get you by as any snow early Tuesday should be light and fluffy.

A bitter cold feel will rule Tuesday afternoon with gusty winds and air temperatures in the teens. This will lead to wind chills barely above zero!

A storm system that may have more moisture to work with will lift north toward Wisconsin from Thursday into Friday. This system will be our best chance of seeing accumulating snow, possibly enough snow to shovel, this week.

The HPC surface forecast map below is valid at 6am Thursday. Low pressure over the Panhandle of Oklahoma will lift northeast pushing a mix or snow into southeastern Wisconsin beginning late Thursday.

As low pressure lifts northeast many models show the barometric pressure rising associated with the low, meaning a gradual weakening of the system as it nears Wisconsin. We will monitor the trends early this week, but right now it still appears that the system will produce accumulating snow close to home.

For the latest weather information watch WISN 12 News, and for updates throughout the day follow me on Twitter @jnelsonweather